(WXYZ) — More than a month after a massive ransomware attack to Ascension’s systems, the health care company announced Friday that access to electronic health records has been restored.
"The developments shared today represent a highly encouraging milestone in our organization’s journey toward full recovery," read part of the statement posted on Ascension's website.
Ascension says that while the EHR systems are restored, records collected between May 8 and the date of the local restoration may be "temporarily inaccessible" as they continue to update the portal. Patients can contact their clinician's office for record availability for that time period.
The health care company notes remediation of additional systems continues and that the investigation is ongoing.
The cyberattack impacted Ascension hospitals across the U.S. Ascension has six hospitals in metro Detroit. All of them had to revert to pen and paper during the recovery process, leading to higher wait times.
VIDEO: How Ascension health cyberattack caused headache for doctors
The health care system is saying this all started with an honest mistake. They say an employee accidentally downloaded a malicious file they thought was legitimate, allowing the hackers into the Ascension system.
The company says according to their investigation, attackers took a small number of files from servers mostly used for routine daily tasks. But they say those files may have included some people's protected health and personal data.
VIDEO: Ascension's cyberattack causes long wait times, paper-only systems, frustrations
Ascension says they will let anyone who was affected know when they are done analyzing the data.
Ascension says it's offering free credit monitoring and identity protection services to patients. Patients who wish to use the service can call 1-888-498-8066.
